A fragrant spice which comes from the inner bark of a tropical tree. When dried, it curls into…

¼ tsp ground allspice

Method

Put the butter, sugar, fruit, zests, juice and 100ml/3½fl oz brandy in a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Reduce the heat and bubble for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2/ fan 130C and line a 20cm round cake tin. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan, tossing them until evenly browned, or in the oven for 8-10 minutes - keep an eye on them as they burn easily. When they are cool, chop roughly. Stir the eggs, nuts and ground almonds into the fruit mixture and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the pan. Stir in gently, until there are no traces of flour left.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth it down evenly - you will find this is easiest with the back of a metal spoon which has been dipped into boiling water.

Bake for 45 minutes, then turn down the heat to 140C/gas 1/ fan120C and cook for a further 1-1¼ hours (about a further 1¾ hours if you have a gas oven) until the cake is dark golden in appearance and firm to the touch. Cover the top of the cake with foil if it starts to darken too much. To check the cake is done, insert a fine skewer into the centre - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.

Make holes all over the warm cake with a fine skewer and spoon the extra 4tbsp brandy over the holes until it has all soaked in. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. When it's cold, remove it from the tin, peel off the lining paper, then wrap first in baking parchment and then in foil. The cake will keep in a cupboard for up to three months or you can freeze it for six months.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments (258)

chompfest10th Oct, 2012

hi abby1991 - how long did you feed/store it? I think the longer it keeps the less likely it is to crumble - that said I made mine in early October last year ad cut it at Christmas having fed it every week with cherry brandy and that still crumbled - no one cared!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to baking so spotted this just before Christmas and decided to give it a go. The cake was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. My family loved it, and were pleasantly surprised that I had made it, knowing how nervous I am about baking!

Gorgeous cake, first time I have ever made a christmas cake and this was so eay to make, lovely and moist.Did not add the nuts and made 5 small cakes with the first attempt which I iced and gave away as Christmas presents and then one big cake for the day itself which did not last long. I added a bit more brandy before icing but there was not alot of time before making and then icing and then it was Christmas.I shall be making this again and again and next time I am thinking of using a loaf tin and cutting it into slabs.Many thanks for another brilliant recipe, I love the praise I get on the results!

I've done this cake for about 3 years now and can't find a better and easier cake. Can't go wrong when you do it. Anyone who tastes this cake want the recipe and I'll be happy to hear that they did it also.Thanks

I was a Christmas cake virgin until last year and so pleased that I chose this recipe! Easy to make and tastes superb. My husband says its the best fruit cake he has ever tasted and my Mother has asked for the recipe, which is a huge compliment coming from her! Will definitely be making this again for Christmas 2012 if not before.

If I could give this recipe 6 + stars I would!This is simpy the best fruit cake recipe I have ever made and more so tasted, not only me but my very experienced baker Mum too. Coming from an Irish family with old classic Christmas cake recipes and recipe books galore nothing will beat this. I am very critical of all cakes and couln't fault this one, it is so moist and has a delicious flavour...opted for whiskey this time around but will try brandy next...thank you, thank you, thank you!

This was the recipe I chose to make my first christmas cake & I can tell you that it is amazing, everyone loved it. I found it easy to make, you can add more booze if you like & it still tatses great. I will only use this recipe now.

I made this cake for the fiorst time and it deserves at least five stars. I changed some of the fruits, but stuck to the basic recipe. I usually make the Delia Smith cake, but sometimes it turns out dry so thought I would have a change and I will make this one in future.

Easy to make and we all enjoyed the results. My husband loves fruit cake and he gave it a big thumbs up, so it must be good! Didn't make any modifications to the recipe, followed it exactly as it said.

Great, easy recipe. I make cakes all the time and this year have made 14 Christmas cakes using this recipe. However, only thing I would recommend is to increase the amount of baking powder to 1 tsp instead of 1/2. You may not realise it and be happy with the size it is, but the cake will rise more. (The reason I did the sample test of increasing the baking powder was that as I often made fruit cake, I thought initially this one was alot flatter than norm). Now that I have changed the quantity of the bp, I will continue to use this recipe forever! Thank you!

I am a 13 year old, who loves to cook. I am also a coeliac. I made this recipe Gluten free by using "Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain White Flour Blend".This cake came out SUPERB, and I mean superb. Much better than store bought, and you can't tell I made it Gluten Free.I did not leave this cake to mature, and just took it out of the tin, cooled it, then iced and ate! I iced this cake with marzipan and royal icing.I 100% reccommend this cake recipe...Its so easy, AND yummy! My fave combination!

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Questions (21)

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